Sunday, September 28, 2008

This week's news round-up

by Johnny Taronja

Looking at thecollapse of easy-lending banking, TheIndependent's Dominic Lawson really believes that "The borrowers must take their share of the blame too". "Yes, many of the loans should never have been offered", he says, "[Y]et it requires two parties to sign a bad loan agreement". The aggressive way banks have been targeting potential borrowers? The military-scale campaign from financial institutions aimed at making money out of indebted 'customers'? Petty, invisible stuff.*****

No wonder on Friday BBC online reported that France is coping better than the US and the UK "against the credit crunch". "French banks are immensely careful about whom they lend money to", wrote Emma Jane Kirby. No 100% mortgages or credit cards handed out like sweets. Only a few years back, Blair and Brown were sneering at France's sluggish growth. Arses.

***** TheGuardian's John Harris from the Labour conference: "The soul of Labour is still twitching", he reports. Apparently, for the first time in years, lots of delegates were talking about redistribution of wealth and class war. Firmly off stage, though. Free cancer treatment and more nurses is the very least a Labour government should grant after 11 years in power. But too little, too late.

*****

The dream of any Sunhack. Writing about a dodgy Muslim hate cleric and scantily dressed poledancers - all in one go. Well, it happened this week. "Poles apart", was the headline about "busty Yasmin Fostok", who "performs pole dancing bars and gyrated half-naked in cages at club nights leads a secret life after rebelling against her fanatical Muslim dad — who rants against Western 'depravity'".

*****

Trust the Telegraph to have a fit in favour of the Queen gagging for £32 million. "The Queen is feeling the pinch too". According to the Telegraph, the Royals are "remarkably good value" for money, "certainly when compared to Parliament". It makes you wonder if they'd have any qualm over doing away with the Parliament and all that red tape stuff. So very Telegraph. How about a good old no-bullshit Absolute monarchy. Now that would get the tourists flocking in.

*****

The Daily Express is renowned for being in tune with real problems. Good to see they don't lack coherence. "Champagne? It's us who invented it", was one of the headlines this week. It comes with the outstanding: "[The French] cannot claim to have invented the method for the simple reason they did not have the strong English bottles". And “[...]the French stole our technology and used it as their own”.

*****

The first presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama saw the 72-year-old Republican candidate confirm that 4,200 American victims and the total failure of the Iraq military adventure are just details. "We are winning", he repeated. So much so that they still can't leave Iraq.But McCain's worst remark was about reforming the US health system. Any move to introduce universal coverage (and end the shame of having ambulance staff asking the patient if they have a private insurance) is presented by McCain as the Federal Government "interfering" in the "decisions made between patience and doctors". He hasn't even got the decency to openly stand by what he believes.